Torpedo or the like



April 23, 1935. H. H. BRIGGS 1,998,805

TORPEDO OR THE LIKE 1 Filed Dec. 9, 1933 INVENTOR flbustoz'zlfizg'ygs, BY

1" iu Mf TTORNEYS Patented Apr. 23, 1935 1,998,805 4 VTORPEDO ORjT HE'LIKE F HoustonH; Driggs, Washington, D. C. p 1 Application December 9, 1933, 'Serial No. 701,591

3 Claims.

@lnfmaking practice with torpedoes, the

forward or war head of the torpedois customarily removed and a practice head is substituted therefor. r The practice headis filled'with water and provided with means intended to blow out the waterat the end of the run and to cause thereby the torpedo to float on the surface so that it may be recovered. As the possible buoyancy heretofore. obtainable was limited by the dimensions of the head and by the thoroughness with" which the water could be discharged therefrom, the number.

of torpedoes lost, either because of failure to expel the water completely or to expel it at the proper time, has beenihigh. One of the objects of the present invention is to provide means for insuring the necessary buoyancy of the torpedo'at theend of;a run even in case of failure of the water to be expelled from the practice head.

I other of'the objects ,of. my invention is to provide meansfor insuring the recovery of torpedoes,' mines, and. other submergible devices after practice use. V e

The several featuresof'the invention, whereby the above mentioned and "other objects may be attained, willbe readily understood from the fol.

lowingdescription and accompanying drawing, inwhic hzj 11 d f Fig. 1 is alongitudinal'sectional view of the forward end of a torpedo with a practice" head thereon embodying the" invention;

Fig. 2 is a 'sectional viewj on a larger scale of the air control device of Fig. 1; and V 'Fig, 3 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to that of Fig. 1 butillustrating a modified form of the invention.

In Fig. 1 is shown the forward'end of a torpedo including a portion of the. compression'chamber 2, the bulkhead 4'at the forward end thereof and the practice-or dummy headB securedto exten sions 8 of, the outer walls, of chamber 2. The practice head 6" as customary is provided with towing nose I0, water discharge valve I2 and filling vent l4. 7 j

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1, an inflatable member, comprising a covering. or bag [6 of rubber or other elastic material impervious to air and water, envelops the head 6 and lies flush with the external surface thereof so asnot to retard the speed of the torpedo. The

bag I6 is held. firmly in place by means of a clamping ring l8 which compresses the fabric of the bag and insures an air tight fit between the fabric and the head. The bag {I 6 is also suitably clamped or riveted to the shell 6 at the point where the towing nose U) is secured-to the head. A suitable relief valve I9 is provided for deflation of the bag after the torpedo has been retrieved;

The means for controlling the inflation of the bag 16 comprises a valve device 20 positioned within the head and secured to the wall thereof. As shown best in Fig. 2, the valve devicelll, in the particular embodiment of .theinvention illustrated, includes a cylindrical body portion'22 of metal or the like and end pieces 23 and 24 secured thereto; The interior of the cylindrical portion 2; is divided by a solid section 25 intotwo chambers 26 and 28 of which the former is connected by means of a port 29 and a pipe 36 with the compressionchamber 2 of the torpedo and the latter,

, at'the rear end thereof is connected by means-of a passage 3! in device'20 and aligned passage .32 in the shell 6 with the spacebetween the bag l6 and the outer wall of the shell. A passage. 34 cone trolled by a valve 36 connects chambers 26 and 28. Chamber 28 is divided into two compartments by a diaphragm 38 mounted on the valve stem 39 of the valve 36. The rear compartment ofchamber 28 is in communication not only with the interior of bag 16, as heretofore described, but also with the interior of the head 6 through, a ball-check valve controlled'port 40. The forward compartment of chamber 28 is subjecte'dto the and ports 43 and 44 in'the valve casing and shell respectively. Valve 36 is normally held seated by the pressure in chamber 26 acting upon the enlarged head of the valve in opposition to the pressureinnthe forward compartment of chamber 38 and also; in opposition to the' action of a coiled spring 46 positioned in thatcompartment. End

pieces 23 and 24 are made removable to permit of adjustment or replacement of the parts, as, for example, the substitution of a spring ofdifferent strength for spring 46; r 7 With the arrangement above-described it will be apparent'that no. air will be admitted -to the interior of bag IE or to the inside of the head 6 so long as the air pressure is maintained in the compression chamberunless the pressure of the sea water acting upon diaphragm 38 increases to a value sufficient to overcome the pressure acting on the head of valve 35. run,.when the pressure in the compression chamber falls, spring 46 lifts valve 36 from its seat and air under pressure flows through passage 34 into chamber 28. From chamber 28 the air flows into the head 5, forcing water out through the exhaust l2 and also into the space between the bag i6 and the outer surface ofthe head, inflating the bag- At the end of a practice into the shape indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and giving to the torpedo a positive buoyancy suiiicient to maintain the torpedo at the surface of the water.

When, as sometimes happens, the operating mechanism of the torpedo fails the pressure in compression chamber 2 stays high and the torpedo starts to sink.. The pressure of the sea water in the forward end of chamber tfiwill thenincrease with th'e depth to which the torpedo sinks, 'until, at a predetermined depth, the pressure acting on the diaphragm 38 overcomes the air pressure act;

ing on the valve head and opens the valve. Air

7 will then be admittedto the head, expelling the water, at least partially, therefrom and'to the bag l6 inflating the same. This will'give suliici'ent buoyancy to the torpedo to raise itto the surface of the water. The torpedo will rise to the surface even if, at the time of the openingof valve 36, the torpedo should have. sunk so far as to be resting upon jthe ground; This is an important advantage resulting from the p'r'ovisionfo'f the inflatable bag which adds a positive buoyancy to the torpedo, and a result which was not obtainable with means heretofore'employed for releasing the air; upon an increase in sea water pressure.

f The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 3 difiers from that above described only in the location of the inflatable member. Instead of securing the inflatable member externally of the practice head, as iirFig. 1, a separateair and ater tight Chanriber D iS provided within the head, and adjacent ne wall thereof and an inflatable member 52, in 'this case not necessarily elastic, is secured therein. Chamber 5!), internallycfjthemember 52, is'connectd b y a p'ib 54'and suitable passages (not shown) in,'device 20 with w r tion f em l g e Pe 'm i e' eber52 to expand eXternally of the torpedo when 'air'is supplied-to chamber 50, theadjace'ntwall of the practice head is provided withoutwardly opening hinged doorsifigand 56 which are'normally maintainediclosed by the eigte'rnal pressure oi the water or, if desired, suitablesprin g biasing means and which are opened by the'e'xp'anding offmeinber 52 whenfunderpr sure, 7 operation or the 'ernb'o ment' of the inventi l sir d 1 1.5 be od rs free the description already given in connection with n1 a, V i

F om the t ere e c iqepf We mb d m .of the 'nventionJt will be apparent that the provi a iacen tieni atqxp dera ei a 9i. flm m rnin i e s ema ly, of he head, mak tl q s b e to Obta n a posi iv ra i gre ter h r h t pc sib w in li des'h e r for in us n w ich the buo n lll ev exceed that obtainable when the water was completely expelled from the head, and frequently was substantially, less than that due to incomplete expulsion of the water. Moreover, even the maximum buoyancy heretofore obtainable was insufiicient to raise a torpedo, once it was grounded, whereas with the inflatable bag or balloon of the invention, even grounded torpedoes will have enough buoyancy given to them to raise them to the surface.

While the features described above are particularly adapted for use in torpedoes, it will be understood that certain features of the invention are also well adapted for, use with mines and other submer'gible device's.

As will be evident to those skilled in the art, hiyinvention permits various modifications without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope 'of the appended claims.

The following. is claimed: 7

1 In a torpedo, a practice head,'an inflatable member secured to the torpedo so as to move bodily therewith, said inflatable member being arranged so that when inflated it increases the buoyancy of the torpedo and said practice head and inflatable member having separate air supplying passages respectively leading into the interior thereof, a'sour'ce of compressed air ply, andmeans normally closing communication between said compressed air supply and both "of said passages and acting autciriaticallyto been communication between said compressed "air supply and both of said passages when a 'pifdte'flmined change occurs in the condition of the t'c'ir-flpedo in its travel. 2. In a torpedo, a practice head, an inflame member enveloping the mi-ware end of said head and permanently secured thereto, a member, said practice head andinfla't'able member 'hav-, ing separate air supplying passages in cannons cation Withtheinterior of said'cliamber, a-sdui ce of'compressea air supply, and means normally closing communication between said compressed air supply and said chamber and acting auto;-

maneauy to open 'coininui'iication between Said compressed air supply and's'a id chaiiiber when a predetermined change occurs in the condition of thetorpe cloinits travel.

3. In a 'torpedd'a practice head, aninfi atable iheinber secured to'the tor edo'so as to inov'eb'odil'y therewith, said inflatableiiiernber being arranged so that when inflated it-increases the buoyaiic'y'of the tolpdQairaii supply Chamber, said'pr'ac't'ice head and inflatable member having separate supplying passages in 'coiiiinunicatidn with the interior of said'chainber, a sourc'eof compressed air supply, means comprising afva'lve "serving when clo's'd toclos'e communication between "s'aid'comfirfisd airsii 'ly and Saliii'Clfzifi'ibll', and open to establish communication between said compressed. air supply and said chamber, and

means responsiv'eto 'apredeteriiiined'chaiige in the condition bf the t ti rpiio "in its'ti'avel to open said valve.

HO USTON H. DRIGG'S. 

